I just finished reading this today: a lovely little gem from Wilkie Collins. Two of the three main characters are a little too slight, in my opinion (Frank and Clara); Wardour is, inevitably, the much more interesting character, but we don't get to see quite enough of him. It's a good story though, with a beguiling setting: it's made me want to read about the 1845 expedition to find the
North-West Passage. Apparently
The Frozen Deep was also the inspiration for a character in
A Tale of Two Cities (my boss's favourite novel by Dickens), so I think I'll have to get a hold of that too.
Today started off like a typically November day: bone-achingly cold and damp and overcast. Now it's gorgeously sunny, with golden-grey clouds. Still a few yellowing leaves clinging on to the tree outside the window.
Edit: It turns out that
Collins' No Name also alludes to the Franklin expedition. So to add to my reading list:
A Tale of Two Cities and
No Name. Also, a quick search on amazon didn't show up any serious books on the Franklin expedition (
Ice Blink?
Frozen in Time?
Ordeal by Ice?) but did lead me to this:
The Discovery of Slowness, a 'fictional biography' of Sir John Franklin, by a German author called Sten Nadolny. It looks wonderful: the title alone is captivating. Oh, and the search function on the Canongate website is rubbish (on my browser, at least).
